Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTCorp) said the demolition of the Ampang Park Shopping Centre was unavoidable for the construction of the Ampang Park Mass Rapid Transit Station (MRT).

"This is because deep excavation is required for constructing a station, which might cause certain changes to the land and subsequently cause unwanted damage to the building," MRT Corp commercial and stakeholder relations director, Haris Fadzilah Hassan, was quoted as saying by The Sun Online.

He explained that the station box, which will be underground, will be five-storey high and is an important station as it will link with the existing Kelana Jaya LRT line and the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line.

According to the report, Haris said the acquisition of the mall must be completed by April 2016 as the construction is expected to start in the third quarter of the same year.

It is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022.

Haris was quoted as saying that 253 strata titles for the Ampang Park Shopping Centre are affected and each owner will be notified about the acquisition and the sum of compensation will be determined by the Valuation Department.

He added that MRTCorp will meet the Ampang Park Management Corporation tomorrow, which represents some of the owners on whether they were interested in entering a mutual agrement.

"When the owners enter into a mutual agreement, they still own the right to the surface land while the right for the underground land belongs to the Federal Land Commissioner, which the government will use for the construction of the MRT station," he was quoted as saying.